Gösta Kruse

From the list of elephant persons Family: Kruse

☨ Gösta Kruse

Gösta Kruse with elephants at Cirque Pinder in France
Profession	circus elephant trainer
Personal details
Born	1927-08-15 Linköping in Sweden

Dead	1973-06-22 Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne in France


Spouse(s)	1955-09-03 - 1973 Joan Kruse

Residence
Address	Rue Gosta Kruse
Zip-code	37390
Place	Chanceaux-sur-Choisille
Country	France

Locations
Title	elephant trainer 1971-1973
Location	at Circus Pinder-Jean Richard in France

Title	elephant trainer 1964-1971
Location	at Cirque Pinder-Charles Spiessert in France

Title	elephant trainer 1951-1964
Location	at Bertram Mills Circus in United Kingdom

Title	elephant trainer 1947-1950
Location	at Zoo Circus in Sweden

Title	animal trainer-1947
Location	at Zoo Circus in Sweden

Google map

Relevant literature

Biography details

Gösta Kruse , circus elephant trainer in France

Kruse was born * 1927-08-15 in Linköping Sweden dead 1973-06-22 Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, in France , son of animal trainer Theodor Kruse

⚭ Married 1955-09-03 in Southport, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom, to Joan Kruse born Liverpol, Merseyside, England in United Kingdom .

Affiliation with 2 elephants

1: Birka (trainer from 1945 to 1950) 2: Safari (trainer from 1945 to 1950)

Kruses father was horse trainer and stable master at Trolle Rhodins Zoo Circus in Sweden. Theodor Kruse died during the tour in Istanbul, Turkey in july 1954.

1945 Trolle Rhodin Sr. bought the two elephants Birka and Safari.

Gösta Kruse started 1945, 18 years old, working with the two new bought elephants Birka and Safari at Trolle Rhodins Zoo Circus, where he was trained by Hugo Schmitt, who stayed with Zoo Circus 1944-1947 with five elephants from Circus Hagenbeck.

Gösta Kruse with the two elephants Birka and Safari, owned by Trolle Rhodin Sr..

In 1951 Kruse took over the elephants from John Gindl as head elephant trainer on Bertram Mills circus, where also the young animal trainer Joan Fowles worked, and she started to assist Gösta Kruse in the training of the elephants.

Four year old Hilary Yelding with elephant Patho, at right elephant trainer Gösta Kruse, at Bertram Mills Circus, 1953

In 1955 they married, and the wedding and couple riding elephants from church can be seen on Video.

1961: In early 1961 Mills were offered to very young orphans found wandering alone in the jungles of Siam. SAFARI aged approx 9 months and TAMU aged approx 6 months old arrived and were hand fed by my parents every 4 hours on a diet of chopped apples, carrots, diluted milk, boiled Patna rice mixed with glucose and Farex. My Mother hated rice pudding till the end of her days after that.
Yvonne Kruse

In 1962, Kruse wrote a book about his life with elephants, with the title Trunk Call.

At the close of Bertram Mills Circus tenting show in 1964 Gösta Kruse, Joan Fowles and their daughter Yvonne Kruse left to Cirque Pinder in France, owned by Charles Spiessert and with winterquarters in Chanceaux-sur-Choisille.

Charles Spiessert died in 1971, and his children sold the circus to Jean Richard, who reopened it as Cirque Pinder-Jean Richard where Kruse remained as elephant trainer until his death July 25, 1973 from a Heart attack.

In the french town Chanceaux-sur-Choisille he was honored, when a street was named "Rue Gosta Kruse" after him.

Family

Total: 1 children

Yvonne Kludsky. Born: 1956.

Gösta Kruses ancestral Ahnentafel:
P	I	II	III
Gösta Kruse Born: 1927-08-15	Father: Theodor Kruse Born: 1901	Paternal Grandfather: Karl Kruse Born: ?	Paternal Great-grandfather:
		Paternal Grandfather: Karl Kruse Born: ?	Paternal Great-grandmother:
		Paternal Grandmother: Hedvig Andersson Born: 1871	Paternal Great-grandfather::
		Paternal Grandmother: Hedvig Andersson Born: 1871	Paternal Great-grandmother:
	Mother: Born:	Maternal Grandfather: Born:	Maternal Great-grandfather:
		Maternal Grandfather: Born:	Maternal Great-grandmother:
		Maternal Grandmother: Born:	Maternal Great-grandfather:
		Maternal Grandmother: Born:	Maternal Great-grandmother:

Gösta Kruse is mentioned on 4 other person pagesHenning Orlando, Hilary Yelding, Joan Fowles, Olof Rhodin,

Gösta Kruse is mentioned on 6 location pagesBertram Mills Circus, Circus Kludsky, Circus Pinder-Jean Richard, Cirque Pinder-Charles Spiessert, Kludskys elephants, Zoo Circus,

Gösta Kruse is mentioned on 8 elephant record pagesHungoly, Jenny, Kathol, Lechmey, Magiula (Manjoulah), Pooly (Pulley, Puly, Patho), Safari, Tamu,

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). elephant trainer Gösta Kruse in France. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 26 April 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/person.php?id=366. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

http://www.lookandlearn.com/childrens-newspaper/CN511222-001.pdf

Selected publications

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From the list of elephant persons Family: Kruse

Family

Total: 1 children

Gösta Kruses ancestral Ahnentafel:

References

Sources used for this article is among others: